The (Real) Future Of Work? Radical Trust

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In the early stages of building my company, I was stung to learn team members were pouring energy into side hustles. Here I was giving so much of myself to the business, putting salaries on my personal credit card in some cases, and I couldn’t even be sure how they were spending their time. What was I paying them for??

But then my brother (and co-founder) made a point that stopped me in my tracks: why does it matter how they spend their time, if they’re ultimately delivering what I need them to deliver? We’re all getting our jobs done — that’s what’s important.

It was a turning point for me. And right now, I think the lesson is more important than ever. The sudden ascendency of remote and hybrid work has created all sorts of challenges for businesses around understanding what people are working on, when they’re working, and how they’re going about their jobs.?

For my company, the shift to remote work has been complicated by a quintupling of our workforce. Hundreds of people who never stepped foot in our office are now working on their own, and largely on their own schedules.?

But this isn’t something that keeps me up at night any longer. What hit home for me all those years ago is that measuring input — tracking people’s hours and micromanaging their time — isn’t the way forward. Output is what matters.??

As debates rage about the future of work and what models hold the most promise, I think this simple message is more salient than ever: Stop wasting time obsessing over how things get done, and reinvest that time into focusing on what gets done. Here’s how.?

Input culture vs. output culture: a primer

We’re all likely familiar with input culture: the expectation that you’ll be at your desk eight hours a day, doing something — anything — from 9 a.m. until you punch out at 5 p.m.

In key respects, this mentality traces to earlier forms of industrial work. The great grandfather of input culture was arguably Frederick Winslow Taylor , who applied engineering principles to the factory floor. Taylor was obsessed with how things get done, and in minimizing the time and steps required to complete a specific task. Work, through his lens, was less about craft and creativity and more about a narrow focus on time and efficiency.?

This kind of clocking in, clocking out approach may have once worked on the assembly line, but it’s a model that just doesn’t make sense in creative sectors. If you’re not building cars — if you’re trying to cure cancer or go to the moon ... or even just design a really compelling UX for your app — the work requires an inherently different approach. Even building cars, in fact, is far different than it used to be and requires a much more trusting approach . Nonetheless, many companies still cling to the idea that hours and efficiency equals productivity.

An arsenal of stats and studies suggests the contrary. In a traditional eight-hour work day, the average worker only gets three hours worth of work done . Conversely, in some case studies, shortened work days have been proven to actually increase productivity and revenues .?

As we learn more and more about the brain, productivity, and creativity , it’s clear that we don’t all work in the same way , or at the same pace. Some of us need more time to mull over ideas; others have flashes of inspiration. Some thrive under pressure of deadlines; others do their best work with long lead times.?

This is where output culture comes into play — prioritizing what gets done, not necessarily how much time is invested. In key respects, this harkens back to a pre-industrial “craft-based” approach to work. When we focus on the end result rather than rules and control around the process, we give people the power to do their best work, in the way that works best for them.

Done right, output culture is a balance of autonomy and guidance, of freedom and support. It’s far less about surveillance than about empowerment. It requires a clear understanding of the results desired, and the willingness to extend the independence and ownership to get there.??

All of which might sound nice. But what does an “output-first” work philosophy actually look and feel like in practice?

Output culture in practice

We’re lucky to have been honing and practicing this for years prior to the pandemic and our current growth spurt, so we’ve learned a lot through trial and error about finding that sweet spot between freedom and chaos.

It starts with what I like to call "radical trust:" preemptively extending trust to our team to get done what they need to get done and to manage their time in the most effective way possible. Starting from this position of trust — not as something earned, but as something simply assumed — makes everything else possible.??

• Remember: it’s all ‘your time.’ These days, when team members approach me about side hustles and promise to use “their time” not “company time,” I make one thing clear. It’s all “your time.” Your employment here doesn’t mean we get to dictate how you spend your hours. That’s exemplified in everything from the flex hours we keep to remote work options and unlimited vacation policies. What we are watching for, however, is your contribution to the team. Those who put their drive into the job will be rewarded with promotions and advancement opportunities. But the ball is always in your court.??
• Set crystal-clear expectations together. This approach only works if you and your team clearly agree on the problem being solved, as well as on what success looks like. Vitally, for us these goals are set together. Individuals are the ones who say, “Yes, I can accomplish X by Y deadline.” These goals are then shared transparently across teams and departments so there’s no confusion about what you’re tracking toward or what constitutes success.??
• Managers are coaches, not babysitters. In an output-first culture, managers play a decidedly different role — in fact, we call them people leaders to drive that point home. Their function becomes much less about surveillance — making sure people are doing their work — than about service. People leaders are there to help meet goals, offering support when and how their team needs it. Practically speaking, this means more frequent one-on-ones to check in on the progress towards those transparent goals.?
• Embrace failure as part of the journey. While goals may be set with care and tracked fastidiously, the assumption isn’t that your team will always go out and ace them. To the contrary, failure is expected. By empowering people to fail, you create a culture where ambitious goals are set and the bar is raised ever higher. But for this to work, people must also feel comfortable asking for help, owning their slip-ups, and discovering learnings from the experience.?
• Build a self-regulating team. Finally, and critically, this entire system is reinforced with an implicit social contract. Obligations are less to the company than to your teammates. Hire people who have respect and trust for one another, build a culture where lone-wolf-jerks aren’t tolerated, and you’ll find yourself with a crew of supportive people committed to not letting one-another down.

Now, more than ever, I think a focus on output culture is the way forward. For employers, remote work has shown how futile a fixation on inputs and surveillance truly is. Meanwhile, employees now value freedom and flexibility more than ever (even more than a pay raise … though I still feel it’s important to hand out raises and promotions for those that deliver results). Extending autonomy isn’t an option any longer; it’s the key to effective recruitment and retention.?

Maybe it’s corny, but I can’t help but think of the analogy of jealousy in love. Hold someone too tight, and you may just find them pushing you away. Trust is the key to strong, lasting, respectful relationships of all stripes.

A version of this article was originally featured in Business Insider .

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